Worthless BIA Upholds Tribal Disenrollments at Robinson Rancheria.

The worthless Pacific Regional Bureau of Indian Affairs Continues to disappoint:


Robinson Rancheria announced Thursday that the Pacific Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs has upheld the disenrollment of 45 people who were improperly enrolled as members of the tribe.

"The federal government has long recognized that a tribe's right to define its own membership is central to its existence and must be dealt with internally," Tribal Chair Tracey Avila said. "The regional director was right to leave this matter to the tribe. In upholding the Tribal Council's decision to disenroll the 45 people, the regional director also recognized that the disenrollment process was done fairly and in accordance with the requirements of both tribal and federal law. The tribe provided those who were disenrolled with due process by giving them notice of the disenrollment and an opportunity to challenge the decision."

The disenrollment of the former tribal members resulted from the discovery by the Tribal Council in 2008 that a provision added to the tribe's enrollment ordinance in 1982 expanded the criteria for tribal membership beyond that permitted by the tribe's constitution. The Tribal Council struck down that provision and notified people who were enrolled under the unconstitutional provision that they had to demonstrate that they were eligible to be members of the tribe under the criteria set forth in the tribe's constitution. The Tribal Council held hearings on the disenrollment at which the people subject to disenrollment

were permitted to demonstrate that they were eligible for enrollment under the tribe's constitution. Most of the people subject to disenrollment did not attend the hearings. A number of people who presented evidence that they were eligible for enrollment were successful and remain members of the tribe. Forty-five of the people who were disenrolled appealed the Tribal Council's action to the regional director. On April 9 the regional director denied the appeals.